


The Pitfalls of Being Presumptuous

by bitsori



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Beach Resort, Enemies to Lovers, Feelings Realization, M/M, Smoking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-01
Updated: 2019-09-01
Packaged: 2020-10-04 17:24:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20474789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bitsori/pseuds/bitsori
Summary: Seungmin likes to be organized, and in line with this, Seungmin loves lists and tables. They give his life a semblance of order, which is why he makes at least a mental list for everything. That is to say, Seungmin keeps an up-to-date list of people on his good side, and an even more up-to-date list of people who aren't.Lee Minho? Right at the top of the second one.--or: Seungmin really can't stand Minho; or so he thinks. ( AU )





	The Pitfalls of Being Presumptuous

**Author's Note:**

  * For [atemzug](https://archiveofourown.org/users/atemzug/gifts).

> [ 1 ] This is super, super early but I'm impatient and anyway, this is a very, very early birthday present for R. So, yeah—advanced Happy Birthday! I hope you don't hate this. I wanted to write 2min because I want to write Minho with everyone, but your birthday gave me an excuse to push it up to the top of the line.
> 
> [ 2 ] Thanks M, as usual, for hearing me bitch about this and bouncing ideas off with me.
> 
> [ 3 ] They work at a beach resort in Jeju in this AU. I don't know if I made it very clear, but it's very much a background setting that isn't super pertinent to the story. 
> 
> **ETA** edited out mentions of WJ and redistributed the minor purposes of his role to various other characters, so minor details may vary if you have read this story before. (200909)

  
❦  
  


Seungmin likes to be organized. Hyunjin always tells him that it's because he's a Virgo, but he always gives his friend a strange look for that. Sometimes, an eye roll, too, because quite frankly, he doesn't really have any interest in what the stars say about his habits.

So, anyway. 

Seungmin likes to be organized, and in line with this, Seungmin loves lists and tables. They give his life a semblance of order, which is why he makes at least a mental list for everything.

That is to say, Seungmin keeps an up-to-date list of people on his good side, and an even more up-to-date list of people who aren't.

Lee Minho? Right at the top of the second one.

  
  
  
  


It’s early in the morning and even before Seungmin steps inside the kitchen, he can already hear Minho and Jisung’s obnoxious giggles. He shouldn’t be surprised that either of them are up – he (unfortunately) shares a room with Jisung, so he noticed that the other boy wasn’t in his bed when he had woken up; Minho has always been the type to wake up early. This advanced knowledge doesn’t stop him from feeling immediate annoyance, and it doesn’t help when the two of them look up in tandem as he enters the room.

The thing about Minho and Jisung is that they’re somewhat tolerable when they’re apart, but together, they just might be the bane of Seungmin’s work life – and they’re almost  _ always _ together.

(“You’re exaggerating,” Hyunjin always tells him, always in a way that his lifeguard friend seems to think is comforting. It really isn’t, but it’s Hyunjin, and it’s hard to be mad at him, so oftentimes, Seungmin simply chooses not to complain to him. 

And okay, maybe he  _ is _ exaggerating, because he’s been working with Minho for a couple of months now and Jisung for a year, give or take, and he  _ is _ aware that both of them have their positive qualities, but. 

_ But.) _

“Isn’t it a little too early to be looking that grim,” Minho comments in a way that makes it sound less a question, and more a declarative statement. There’s also a hint of teasing in his tone, which is one of the reasons why he so easily grates on Seungmin’s nerves – Minho always looks at you and talks to you like he knows something about you that you’d rather he does not, and it’s _ unnerving. _

“Why is there no more coffee?” Seungmin grunts in response, frowning after he checks the coffee pot. “You two know the rules—if you finish the coffee in the morning, you start a fresh pot.”

“Wasn’t us!” Jisung pipes up defensively. “It was Chan-hyung!”

“Chan-hyung doesn’t even drink coffee,” Seungmin points out.

“Well it wasn’t us!” Jisung maintains, and Seungmin has a hard time not scoffing or rolling his eyes.

“Take some responsibility Jisung,” Seungmin mutters, sighing as he scoops some ground coffee into the filter.

“It was Felix and Chan-hyung,” Minho interjects; while Jisung is being pouty and petulant, Minho is just staring at Seungmin as if he’s  _ amused _ by Seungmin’s behavior. “But, as you said, since Chan-hyung doesn’t drink coffee, it was obviously Felix. They have an early day because they’re sending off that group that’s from the UK. They fly back to Seoul today.”

“Whatever,” Seungmin grumbles, and the way that Minho obviously holds back a snort just worsens his mood. 

“Chan-hyung did remind me to remind you, though—it’s our turn to get groceries for this week,” Minho continues, seemingly unfazed by Seungmin’s grumpy countenance. “We’re supposed to go this afternoon because we're almost out of everything.”

“Wasn’t I supposed to do it with Changbin-hyung?” Seungmin frowns; his morning has already started out bad, and being told that he has to spend some of it with  _ only _ Minho just makes him feel like it’s going to be a longer, shittier day than he expected.

Minho shrugs. “I think Changbin’s closing the restaurant tonight, so they switched around the errands sheet. You can check it for yourself, if you want.”

“Fine, I’ll meet you here around 5.”

“Looking forward to it, Seungminnie,” Minho chirps, and there’s that mild, teasing tone once more, the one that makes Seungmin want to throw a coffee pot at him.

  
  
  
  


“You hate me, don’t you?” 

It’s almost six in the evening, and here they are, Jisung and Minho at the local supermarket. Cloud 9 Resorts & Villas, where they work, has vendors who provide them with nothing but high quality products at the best bargain prices, but only strictly for business. As stay-in employees they were to provide for themselves using a budget that management at least allocated for them.

Minho is in the middle of picking out potatoes (Seungmin simply letting him, because there's a reason Minho works in the kitchen while the only dish Seungmin can proudly make is egg fried rice) when he brings up the question.

“What?” He returns flatly; he’d been caught completely off-guard – frankly this is simply another thing that he dislikes about Minho. The older boy never acts interested in anyone, but when he opens his mouth he always sounds like he's so sure and confident about what he's confronting you with. “I don't hate you,” Seungmin grumbles, stepping forward and picking up a potato that Minho had placed in their cart, inspecting it as if he knows how to identify a good or bad one. “I don't have reason to hate you.”

“Not everyone needs a reason to hate someone,” Minho points out; he's moved on to picking out eggplants now. 

“Whatever, hyung,” Seungmin answers. “I don't hate you—hate is too strong a word.”

“Oh, so you don't hate me, you just can't stand me then.”

Seungmin winces because that one is a little hard to deny. He sighs and just pushes the cart forward. “Hyunjin hates eggplants,” he points out instead.

“I know,” Minho laughs. “But I know a recipe that might change his mind.”

Seungmin wrinkles his nose, but he doesn't say anything else; he thinks he's successfully steered the conversation away from the previous topic at least.

“It’s alright, you know, if you don't like me that much.” Or not, because Minho easily picks it back up as they walk towards the body care aisles. “It’s not like most of us would have become friends if we weren't co-workers.”

“You and Jisung would have,” Seungmin finds himself saying.

Minho laughs. “I don't know about that.”

“If you say that, well—if not him then you wouldn't be friends with any of the rest of us outside work,” Seungmin points out.

Minho laughs  _ again, _ his soft, giggly teetering echoing down the aisle. “Why do you sound so upset about that?”

“I’m not. I really don't care.”

This time, Minho sighs. “Do you really not want to be my friend that much, Seungminnie?”

“You basically just said we wouldn't be friends outside of work anyway, so what's the point?” Seungmin tries to sound as even as he can, not wanting to allow Minho the pleasure of getting a rise out of him.

“Touché,” Minho agrees. “Except we  _ are _ here, working together, aren't we?”

“Are you trying to say we should be friends, hyung?”

“Would it be so bad if we were?”

  
  
  


“Hi, Seungminnie!” Jisung greets as he sets his food tray down next to Seungmin.

It’s lunch time, several days later, and Seungmin is very peacefully eating alone in the employee’s lounge of the main building when Jisung plops down right next to him, holding three rolls of kimbap – his lunch, Seungmin knows, because he had glimpsed Minho rolling a whole lot of them in the kitchen the night before – and he had found them neatly stacked on the dining table earlier that morning, labelled ‘LUNCH’ in Minho's messy scribble.

“So where's your other half?” Seungmin asks without being prompted.

“Other—?” Jisung looks confused for about a total of one second, maybe, before realization dawns on his features and he bursts into laughter. “You mean Minho-hyung.”

Seungmin shrugs. There's something grating about the way Jisung immediately knows who he means, but he can't pinpoint what.

“He’s obviously working in the kitchen,” Jisung explains. “I took an early break.”

“‘Kay,” Seungmin mumbles, like he doesn't care.

Jisung snorts. “Hey, you asked!” And then after a beat, “You’re eating one of Minho-hyung’s rolls too,” he points out with amusement, gesturing at the half eaten kimbap roll Seungmin is holding.

“Am I not allowed to?” Seungmin asks, getting far too defensive a little too quickly.

“Didn't say that,” Jisung says as he unwraps the foil of his roll. “Hyung made them for everyone, after all. Why do you  _ always _ act like he annoys you so much, huh?”

The question itself annoys Seungmin, and he shows it by sighing with exasperation. “Because he does,” he answers anyway, straight and matter-of-fact.

“But… _ why?” _ Jisung continues to press. “Minho-hyung is a fun guy!”

_ He’s fun when he's with  _ _ you, _ Seungmin thinks of answering, but it doesn't make any sense for him to be so bothered by that, so he doesn't say anything and he simply takes another bite off the end of his kimbap roll.

“Hyung is really funny,” Jisung continues to ramble, “and he has great taste in movies! And he's really nice—even though he pretends not to be, sometimes. Actually, sometimes, the two of you remind me of each other.”

Seungmin almost chokes on sticky rice at that proclamation, and he turns to look at Jisung with clear disbelief. “Stop—Minho-hyung and I are complete opposites of each other,” he says. “You and him—you’re the ones who are pretty alike.”

“Well, that’s true, we are,” Jisung says simply. “We get along so well because we have a lot of things in common.” He’s too quick to agree, and once again, this is something that grinds at Seungmin’s gears. “But—there are some parts of you, and some parts of him that are a lot alike.”

“Hard to believe that,” Seungmin deadpans.

“Like that exactly!” Jisung exclaims, laughing as if Seungmin’s response is the funniest thing in the world. “That’s exactly what he’d say if I told him the same thing.” 

“It’s the only logical response to what you said,” Seungmin snorts.

“Hmmm—I don’t know!” Jisung laughs some more. “I’m sure some of the others would agree with me.”

“Fine,” Seungmin sighs. “I’ll bite. How are we alike?”

“You know how you always cut me a slightly bigger slice when we have cheesecake for dessert—?”

“No I don’t,” Seungmin denies, a little too quickly and defensively.

“Yes, you do,” Jisung insists with a snort. “Just like you always remember to get cherry mint toothpaste for Changbin-hyung when it's your turn to do groceries, even though he always forgets to specify it—and just like how you quietly eat Hyunjin's carrots for him because he's a big baby.”

Seungmin huffs. “What's your point?”

Jisung laughs some more. “That's my point! You do these really nice things, but you always refuse to admit to them because for some reason you think it's beneath you? Or maybe you have some other reasoning, but—” Jisung shrugs. “Whatever it is, hyung does the same thing.”

“I don't see how,” Seungmin shakes his head. “Ninety percent of the time he seems so unbothered by everybody else.” He thinks about Minho saying that none of them would even be friends outside of the resort, and he mentally huffs.

“Exactly. With hyung, just like with you, one has to read between the lines!” Jisung attests.

Seungmin shakes his head; he doesn't know why he's even humoring Jisung at this point.

“Did you notice that you got extra eggs in your kimbap?” Jisung nudges him, and “I got mayo, and extra ham in mine—all the rolls are specialized, that's why Minho-hyung makes sure to label them whenever he makes food for everyone. You've never noticed this?”

Seungmin stares at his almost finished kimbap roll – Jisung is right. He really has never noticed this; come to think of it, he never has considered the fact that Minho often cooks for everyone in their shared work housing. He’s taken this for granted, and assumed that Minho just does it because, well, he's the only one who works in the kitchen out of all of them.

“Everyone does things for everyone, Jisung,” he points out with a sigh. “It’s called living together in harmony.”

Jisung snorts. “Okay, Seungminnie! If you say so!”

  
  
  
  


Twice a month, they hold a drinking party at their dorm. Chan had come up with this idea a long time ago, before Seungmin even started working at Cloud 9, so he had easily allowed himself to go along with the tradition even if he isn't always too keen on alcohol.

It isn't so bad anyway – their dorm is made up of the youngest group of stay-in staff, so the hierarchical difference isn't very off-putting.

Unfortunately for him, however, he once again gets stuck providing snacks and drinks with Minho for that week.

“Lucky you, you get me, two times in the span of two weeks,” Minho teases him as they get in Chan’s car so they can stock up on beer and soju. (An aside: Chan is the only one with a car among all eight of them, and by default it's become the group's to share.)

“I don't think lucky is the word I’d use,” Seungmin shoots back immediately, only to get laughter from Minho in response.

“What would you use, then?”

“Anything but that.”

“So picky, our Kim Seungmin!”

At this, Seungmin groans. “I’m going to turn the sound system on now, hyung,” he says, taking the aux cord and plugging it into his phone so he can be in charge of their music.

He half expects Minho to keep arguing, just for the sake of it, but he doesn't. Seungmin is grateful, but then again, the drive to the nearest convenience store only takes one Day6 song and a half.

Seungmin wonders if it's because Jisung has filled his head with a bunch of nonsense about Minho, because now he can't help but notice as the older carefully picks out snacks with the rest of their friends –  _ co-workers _ – in mind.

“Mixed nuts?” Seungmin asks, after Minho places a massive bag in their basket. 

“Chan-hyung and Felix love it,” Minho answers with a shrug.

“How many bottles of Morning Care should we get?” Seungmin asks, as he lines their basket with the hangover cure.

“Eight, but get a couple of bottles of Oriental Raisin Tea—Jeonginnie says that works better for him,” Minho tells him plainly.

Even when Seungmin remembers to grab a pack of cheese for Hyunjin, Minho is quick to switch it for another brand because, “I think this is his preferred one.”

Minho shops without much fanfare, and for the first time, Seungmin notices what Jisung was talking about. For someone that he had assumed doesn't care about most people surrounding him, Minho knew an awful lot about everyone's preferences.

When they fill the trunk of Chan’s car with crates of beer and soju, Seungmin asks out loud, “Do you think we got enough?” 

Minho immediately laughs, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he pushes the hood down. “If it isn't, Chan can start firing people,” he says matter-of-factly, but with a cheeky grin.

Seungmin hates that, he really does.

(Never mind that he resorts to biting the inside of his cheek so he doesn't laugh out loud.)

  
  
  
  


Most of the group is drunk before it even strikes midnight. Seungmin isn't even surprised at this point, because this  _ always _ happens.

Jisung and Felix are drunkenly flipping coins at the end of the table with Jeongin as their captive audience, while Changbin and Hyunjin are sprawled across the couch together, Hyunjin snoring loudly while Changbin sleeps on top of him.

Seungmin briefly went to the bathroom to pee, and when he comes back he has no idea where the three oldest residents of their shared work dorm have gone to.

“Hey,” he taps Jeongin on the shoulder. “Where are the others?”

The youngest shrugs. “Went out for some air I guess,” he answers before putting his entire focus back on Felix and Jisung's silly game.

He doesn't know what possesses him to go outside to check – he tells himself he wants to check on Chan, but when he walks out to the back patio, it's only Minho there, getting ready to light the cigarette that's balanced between two of his fingers.

“Where is Chan-hyung?” He asks, surprising even himself as he actually takes a few steps towards Minho.

The older male shrugs, choosing to take a quick drag off his newly lit cigarette before answering. “I’m not their keeper, how should I know?”

“I was just asking,” Seungmin tells him flatly. “No need to be so glib.” Minho laughs, and Seungmin can’t help but stare as a haze of smoke envelopes him; he’s annoyingly beautiful despite it, under just the dim illumination of moonlight. “You realise that’s bad for your health, right?” He asks, forcing himself to look away.

“Okay, first of all, I wasn’t being glib—you asked, and I answered,” Minho points out, pausing to take another quick drag, before continuing. “Second, it’s not like I smoke a pack a day. It just helps me sober up, is all.”

“What—”

_ “Whatever, _ I know,” Minho finishes for him; he giggles in a way that makes Seungmin think he’s actually a little buzzed, except Seungmin actually finds it kind of cute, so he assumes maybe he’s had a little too much to drink himself.

“You want a hit?” Minho suddenly asks, boldly offering the exact stick he’s been smoking. “You’re kinda staring.”

Seungmin didn’t even realise that his eyes had naturally wandered and settled right back on Minho, and he flushes with embarrassment. “No,” he immediately answers. “Why would you even think that when I just told you that it’s  _ unhealthy..” _

“You were staring like you were curious,” Minho tells him. “Or—were you just staring because I’m so good looking that it’s hard to take your eyes off me?” He’s teasing, and Seungmin hates that he so easily lets it get to him.

(“Truth is usually harder to stomach,” he can almost hear Changbin telling him.  _ Whatever, Changbin, _ he thinks. He shouldn’t have a say in this, not when he’s passed out drunk inside the house.)

“You’re so full of yourself, it’s annoying,” he huffs, right before turning on his heel and heading back inside, not waiting for another word to come out of Minho.

  
  
  
  


So, Seungmin  _ was  _ staring. He was drunk, and Minho is objectively beautiful.

The problem, however, is that he  _ keeps _ staring even past that night, and long after he's gotten the alcohol out of his system.

He blames Jisung, because 1) he needs someone to blame, and 2) Jisung had been the one to make him realise that there is possibly more to Lee Minho than meets the eye, and now it’s turned into some kind of compulsion, the need to try and discover these things about Minho that he might have missed before.

The more he pays conscious attention to the older, the more he finds it hard to look away. Seungmin thinks he’s probably lucky that Minho never notices – well, that, or he just chooses not to call him out on it anymore. Either way, Seungmin is thankful.

“He’s a treat to look at, isn’t he?” Jisung tells him one night because  _ he _ doesn't have a problem chiding him; they’re both seated on the couch in the living room, a rerun of some Yoo Jaesuk variety show playing on the TV in front of them. 

Minho has just arrived from work, and he silently walks past the two of them without so much as a greeting or an acknowledgment. It’s normal for him to do that – it’s one of the things that Seungmin really dislikes about him. Still, he couldn’t help himself as his eyes naturally follow the older’s movement.

Unfortunately for him, Jisung catches him doing just that.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Seungmin answers as he forces his eyes to land back on the TV.

Jisung laughs; the truth is that Jisung is #2 on Seungmin’s List of Annoying People because just like Minho, he always talks and laughs and acts like he knows something about you that you don’t. The only reason that he isn’t at the top is because, very much unlike Minho, Jisung is as transparent as air, and he always lets you know exactly what it is that he thinks he knows.

“Minho-hyung is very nice to look at, don’t even try to pretend that you don’t think so, too!” Jisung declares. “You’ve been looking at him so much recently, I’m surprised that he hasn’t melted under your scrutiny yet.”

Seungmin groans. “Leave me alone, Jisung.”

“Ha! You can’t even deny it!” Jisung proclaims a little too triumphantly.

“Because I don’t have to deny anything!”

“Sure, Seungminnie, if you say so~” Jisung leans in and sing-songs right into his ear; Seungmin is quick to push him away, but Jisung just laughs even louder for it. “In case you were wondering, though—” he grins and wiggles his eyebrows, “—hyung  _ does _ go for guys. He told me. He tells me  _ everything.” _

Seungmin shakes his head and doesn't answer anymore. He doesn't know why Jisung feels that he even needs to know that.

  
  
  
  


Little known fact: Minho wasn't always the reigning king of Seungmin's List of Less Than Stellar Human Beings. 

Minho first arrived at Cloud 9 during the tail end of the previous year, right as fall was making way for winter. Seungmin had been working the front desk for roughly eight months by then – not exactly green anymore considering he'd already survived peak summer season, but still rookie enough to be tasked with showing the new hire around.

“It’s either you or Felix, and Felix still gets lost around here,” Chan, manager to the front desk and guest services division, had told Seungmin, only really half joking about Felix, who was newer than Seungmin by a month and a half.

“Hi,” was Minho’s simple greeting when Seungmin met him at the entrance of their work dorm. He was shorter than Seungmin, but built sturdier. He had delicate features, and a smile that made him seem both soft and sweet. “I’m Lee Minho—I’m the new assistant cook.”

A very obvious fact: Lee Minho is outstandingly pretty, and Seungmin has always been weak for pretty. So maybe it’s incredibly shallow, but adding that to the cute way Minho spoke softly and packed his clothes in bundles, Seungmin might have maybe developed a teeny, tiny crush when he first met him.

And then Minho had settled into life in Jeju – life at Cloud 9, and he had shown his true colors, and that small crush had been completely obliterated. 

Every day, Seungmin thanks the heavens that no one really found out about his fleeting infatuation, which he rather thinks of now as a temporary break from sanity.

(Changbin, has an idea, maybe – but he never voices this idea out loud. Perhaps this is why, despite popular belief, Changbin actually has a pretty cosy spot on The Good List.) 

  
  
  
  


As always, the next time they have a drinking party at the dorm, everyone gets drunk before midnight. This time, Seungmin doesn't lose track of Chan, who stays in the living room, drunkenly recollecting some wild story about a recent guest that he translated for during her entire stay. Jisung and Hyunjin are both hanging onto his every word, while it's Jeongin and Felix who have passed out early this time around.

Changbin has holed himself up in the bathroom, vomiting in the toilet bowl; Seungmin had peered in to ask if he needed help, but Changbin had just groaned, pushed him away and locked him out. 

This is how he once again finds himself joining Minho outside the house. The older male has a lit cigarette just like before, but this it's dangling between his lips and not his fingers. He’s crouched near the ground, scratching behind the ears of an unfamiliar cat that appears to be eating out of an open can of tuna.

“What are you doing?” Seungmin asks, and Minho actually looks surprised by his sudden intrusion.

“Geez, Seungmin,” Minho wheezes as he stands up, plucking his cigarette out of his mouth. “Warn a man, will you?”

“What are you doing?” Seungmin simply repeats, even though he does feel a surge of triumph at having caught Minho off guard for once.

“What do you think?” Minho questions back. “Feeding a cat, obviously.”

“Yes. I can see that—” Seungmin sighs softly. “I’m not blind. But—whose cat?” He knows for a fact that stay-in employees aren’t exactly allowed pets.

Minho shrugs. “Who knows?”

“It’s a stray, then?”

Minho nods, but doesn’t say any more as he draws smoke from his cigarette. Seungmin watches him, as if still expecting an answer, but Minho only stares back, eyes sparkling as he slowly exhales smoke rings.

“You shouldn’t feed it.” Seungmin eventually caves, looking away and speaking first.

“Don’t be mean, Seungminnie,” Minho hums. “He’s hungry.”

“It’s not being mean, hyung. The cat’s just going to keep coming back if you continue to feed it,” Seungmin points out.

“Good, then.”

“Not good,” Seungmin chastises him. “We aren’t allowed pets.”

“Cats aren’t your pets,” Minho says with an amused tone; he sits down on the patio steps, and makes a show of inching towards one side to make space as if he expects Seungmin to join him. “Cats claim you. They’re  _ your _ owners.”

Seungmin snorts; for some reason he actually sits next to Minho, though, who turns to face him with what he can only describe as a catlike grin. 

“Want a puff?” Minho offers his cigarette to him, once again like the last time. Also like the last time, Seungmin wrinkles his nose, and Minho laughs. 

Seungmin watches the cat lick the tuna can clean before padding over and rubbing itself against Minho's knuckles.

“Does it own you now?” Seungmin asks.

“Why are you so curious?” Minho asks back, putting his cigarette out and turning to face Seungmin. “And why are you here outside, anyway?”

“What, I can't ask questions?” Seungmin huffs. “And you don't own the back patio, hyung. I’m allowed to be here as much as you.”

“Ah, you tire me out, Kim Seungmin,” Minho says, chuckling with feigned exasperation.

“Good. You annoy me, so that makes us kind of even,” Seungmin retorts.

“I know, as you've promptly pointed it out more than a couple of times before,” Minho snickers; he grunts softly and picks the unnamed stray cat up so he can cradle it in his lap. “But you know what I think?”

“You don't have to tell me,” Seungmin answers, even though he knows Minho will tell him anyway.

“I think you actually like me,” Minho declares. “I think you like me, and you're curious about me and that's why you're sitting out here with me at half past midnight.”

“I think you're full of yourself,” Seungmin rolls his eyes. “No wonder you and Jisung get along so well.”

“I think you're also jealous of Jisung,” Minho adds, laughing. “You always seem extra annoyed when we're together.”

Seungmin groans, and he finally forces himself up to his feet. “That’s ridiculous, and I’m going back inside now.”

“Good night, Seungminnie,” Minho coos, the cat in his arms seemingly echoing him when it purrs.

Seungmin, for one, is just glad that Minho isn't witness to the deep, red flush that spreads across his cheeks as he hastily walks back inside the house.

  
  
  
  


The morning after, Seungmin walks into the kitchen and finds Changbin asleep in there while sitting on a stool, his cheek pressed against the surface of the kitchen island, a small puddle of drool right beside his slightly agape mouth. He looks absolutely ridiculous, and despite the early hour Seungmin almost laughs out loud.

He’s tempted to walk over and wake the older up by yelling in his ear, but he decides that he doesn’t have it in him to be that mean, especially not towards Changbin. Instead, he grabs the dry erase marker that is hung by a string next to the errand board, and he decides to make a canvas out of Changbin’s face. 

He’s in the middle of drawing an eye on Changbin's cheek when he hears soft scuffling from behind. It catches him off-guard, and he accidentally lets the marker slide across Changbin’s cheek. The older male stirs, and Seungmin hisses when he realises it was just Minho stumbling into the kitchen.

“What are you doing?” Minho asks without bothering to keep his tone down.

Seungmin rolls his eyes and places a finger against his lips to shush the older male; Minho snorts, but he does lift a hand to cover his mouth and muffle his laughter.

Minho holds out his palm and Seungmin gives him a questioning look, confused by the gesture.

“Let me have a go, too” Minho says, and this time he actually whispers.

Seungmin doesn't know why this amuses him; maybe it's the fact that it's so early in the morning because he feels a dash of eagerness when he hands the pen over. He bites his cheek and tries not to laugh when Minho promptly starts scribbling on Changbin's face. It feels strangely satisfying, like he and Minho are now privy to something of theirs, together.

He grabs Minho's arm when Changbin s grunts loudly and he suddenly begins to stir again; the soft sounds of Minho and Seungmin's snorts and joint teetering echo and fill the kitchen.

Minho keeps chuckling and slips the marker into Seungmin’s pajama pocket, and without warning, he calls out using a loud, yet even tone, “Seo Changbin.”

Seungmin's eyes widen, and he hits Minho’s arm unthinkingly, while Changbin grumbles and turns his head so that he's facing away from both of them.

Minho snickers. “Seo Changbin,” he repeats, and Changbin mumbles something inaudible in response.

This time, it's Seungmin who lets out an uncontrollable snort.

“You two did something to my face, didn't you?” Changbin mumbles and whines sleepily, rubbing his hand across his face as he wakes and slowly sits up.

Seungmin and Minho crack up at the same time, but neither of them offer a definitive answer.

“Just here for the coffee,” Minho declares, giving Seungmin what feels like a conspiratorial pat on the back before he moves to get a fresh pot of coffee going; he's wearing a cheeky grin on his face, which Seungmin feels is a tad too frustratingly bright and pretty, especially considering how early it is in the day, and how they were all drinking until late into the previous night.

Changbin sighs and turns to completely face Seungmin, who has a hard time not laughing again. His hair is sticking out all over, and half of his face is covered with various scribbles while the other side is caked with dried spit.

“You look funny,” Seungmin informs him.

“Call me when the coffee's ready,” Minho tells them, giving them individual salutes before he starts heading back out of the kitchen, just like that.

Seungmin faintly hears Jisung greeting him, presumably in the living room; he sounds a little too hearty in the morning, and Seungmin tries his best to will away the hint of jealousy that pricks at his chest.

“You and Minho-hyung,” Changbin pipes up, distracting Minho from his thoughts.

“Huh?”

“You've been getting along,” Changbin points out while rubbing his eyes open.

“We have  _ not,” _ Seungmin denies; he walks over to the cupboard and pulls out his personal mug, along with Changbin's. The entire time he moves around, he can feel the older male’s eyes following him. “Stop that, hyung,” he mumbles. “We really have not.”

“Well enough to be messing around with me anyway,” Changbin says, teasing Seungmin despite  _ his _ ridiculous appearance. (That’s another reason why Changbin is on the right list – play a prank on him, and he'll take it in stride and react good-naturedly.)

“That’s not exactly getting along,” Seungmin argues.

“But it hasn't been just that, has it?” 

Seungmin's breath hitches as he reconsiders transferring Changbin between lists; the most annoying thing about the observation is that it isn't even completely wrong.

He would like to think that it’s because he’s become a lot more adept at ignoring Minho, or that he’s grown to be a much bigger person, and that either of these reasons are why he’s had an easier time being around Minho recently. But the truth is that nothing has really changed, except that he’s learned to pay even  _ more _ attention to Minho, if anything.

“Okay,” Changbin shrugs, hopping off his stool and taking his mug away from Seungmin’s hands so he can pour coffee for himself. “You’re still in denial right now, so I won’t push it.”

“I’m—” Seungmin opens his mouth to say something, to deny even more, but despite looking tired and drained, Changbin’s eyes still pierce right through him, and he decides that it's not worth arguing.

  
  
  
  


_ A List Of Things That Aren't So Bad About Lee Minho (As Noticed By Kim Seungmin During The Last Several Weeks): _

_ One, _ just as Jisung mentioned, Minho often makes lunch for everyone. Seungmin never paid attention to him doing this before – everyone takes turns being in charge of meals after all, that's how the chore wheel and the errand board works. But now he realises that Minho does it often even when it isn't his responsibility, and he does it especially when it's the turn of someone like Jeongin or Felix, neither of whom are very adept in the kitchen.

Which brings him to  _ Two _ – once he saw Felix asking Minho if he'd help him prepare a seaweed soup for Hyunjin, because it was Hyunjin’s birthday, and it was Felix’s turn in the kitchen. “Look up the recipe on the internet and do it yourself,” Minho had groaned and whined while lazily sprawled out on the couch. Ten minutes later, Seungmin found him in the kitchen anyway, carefully and patiently instructing Felix on what he needed to do, while Minho himself peeled some cucumbers presumably for a side salad.

_ Three, _ Minho, much to Seungmin's surprise, actually donates to charities – quite regularly, at that. He learned this after he found an unfamiliar panda-shaped paperweight in the living room, which Jisung had promptly informed him was a souvenir that Minho got in the mail in exchange for donating to some wildlife fund dedicated to saving pandas. He didn't ask Jisung for this information, obviously, nor did he think he would care – but it did make him feel a little in awe of Minho, and also a tad bit guilty and just a little less of a man for never even having considered doing anything similar. (So—he thinks, maybe this actually belongs to the List of Things That Make Minho Annoying.)

_ Four, _ he wakes up even earlier than Seungmin does, which is quite a feat in itself. But it’s only been recently that Seungmin realises (mostly thanks to Jisung running his mouth,  _ as usual) _ that he mostly does this so that he can shower early and let his roommates sleep longer.

Finally,  _ Five, _ which is that – Minho is actually  _ funny. _ He isn’t the kind of funny that Changbin is, with his silly dad and uncle jokes, nor is he the kind of funny that Felix is, with his somewhat slapstick humor. He isn’t even the kind of funny that Jisung is, where he manages to make people laugh just by being loud and silly. Minho is funny by way of his  _ wit _ – his humor is dry and sarcastic, and he knows how to deliver a punchline in a way that makes people laugh at the very least, because if they don’t, it makes  _ them _ feel like they’re the butt of the joke. Seungmin actually wants to hate him for this, but if he’s going to be honest, he actually kind of finds it to be a quality that’s both enviable  _ and _ admirable.

  
  
  
  


The next time they have a drinking night at the dorm, it also doubles as a late birthday celebration for Hyunjin. The only difference is that there’s cake and one special birthday present, both of which everyone chipped in to pay for. (They got him some expensive perfume, which he had apparently been eyeing, as Minho had graciously but casually informed them all when they were discussing it.)

At the end of the night, everyone is predictably drunk before twelve, and once again, Seungmin finds himself sitting down next to Minho on the steps of the back patio.

“You're sticking to me again,” Minho teases; as usual he has a lit cigarette stuck pinched between his fingers. “I  _ knew _ you liked me.”

“Oh,  _ please,” _ Seungmin retorts. “Chan-hyung managed to rope everyone into playing a drinking game inside, and I’d much rather be out here, safe from their shenanigans.”

Minho cackles. “Scared of what a little game of Truth or Dare might reveal about you?”

“I have nothing to hide,” Seungmin declares, lying straight through his teeth. If he's going to be honest, he's scared of what kind of question Changbin might throw his way, or worse – what kind of dare Jisung will surely give him. Minho doesn't need to know that, though.

“Sure. Okay.”

Seungmin groans. “Ugh. Stop that.”

“Stop what?”

“Stop being…” He trails off, realising that he doesn't have the right words to express himself, which frustrates him even more. “Stop being  _ you.” _

Minho laughs. “What do I do that annoy you so much?”

Seungmin purses his lips; he feels like he should have an answer – in fact, he should have an entire list’s worth of answers, but in that moment, all the bullet points escape him.

Minho laughs even harder when it becomes apparent that Seungmin is tongue-tied. He ends up just staring at the smoke rings that Minho exhales, silence building between the two of them until he couldn't take it anymore.

“You're not going to offer it to me this time?” He asks, just to say something, nodding towards Minho’s cigarette.

The older male gives him a look – the type that shows he's well aware that Seungmin is purposefully switching topics; Minho plays ball anyway.

“You gonna say yes this time?” Minho asks, taking one lengthy drag before offering the almost finished cigarette to him.

Seungmin shrugs, and for the first time, he caves and actually reaches for it. Minho lifts his eyebrows in surprise, which prompts – no,  _ dares _ Seungmin to be even bolder.

He brings the cigarette to his lips, trying to look as casual about it as he can, only to completely fail when he ends up inhaling more smoke than he can handle.

Minho has the gall to burst into carefree laughter even as Seungmin coughs uncontrollably, but then his hand is soon enough rubbing across his back – a clear attempt at helping him calm down.

The gesture irritates Seungmin, moreso because it actually does calm him down. It’s through this that he finally realises what the most annoying thing about Minho is –  _ he makes Seungmin feel completely out of control. _

He makes Seungmin feel like he's missing something – like there's utter chaos instead of his precious order.

Seungmin wracks his mind, feeling a pressing need to come up with a way that will upturn Minho's calm nonchalance – and when the perfect idea comes to mind, he doesn't bother giving it a second thought.

He stubs out what's left of the cigarette with his toe, and then he turns to face Minho.

_ Shut up, _ he wants to say, but he doesn't even do that. He just reaches for Minho – he grabs his face with both hands, and he pulls him closer, their lips crashing together.

He feels Minho  _ smirk _ into the kiss, and it pisses Seungmin off enough that he bites down hard on Minho’s bottom lip. The latter gasps in response, and Seungmin uses the opportunity to lick into his mouth.

Minho’s tongue tastes of smoke and alcohol, and Seungmin knows he shouldn't be liking it as much as he is – but he learns that's just another thing he has no control over.

  
  
  
  


_ A List Of Things Kim Seungmin Had Expected Lee Minho To Be When They First Met: _

_ One, _ Minho was quite soft-spoken upon first meeting, and somehow Seungmin immediately equated that to timidity. He had fully expected Minho to be some kind of shy, shrinking violet – and Seungmin had been fully prepared to be the one to coax him out of his shell, and help ease him into things at Cloud 9.

The reality: Minho is far from timid, and he had more than easily settled into the group without much of Seungmin’s help beyond initial introductions, if any at all. (One week into Minho’s tenure at the resort and he was already thick as thieves with Jisung, Seungmin's goodwill completely unnecessary.)

_ Two,  _ well – there isn't really a number two.

Seungmin had expected a different kind of Minho – had expected to have a different kind of rapport with him altogether – and when he didn't get it, nothing else about Minho seemed to be right.

His sister once told him – when he was 15, and he had come home after a falling out with his once best friend – that he can be a little too rigid with his expectations.

“I have  _ standards,” _ he had reasoned out. “And that isn't a bad thing.”

“Well, the world doesn't always have to be how  _ you _ see it, Seungmin. Let people surprise you—sometimes it can be a good thing.”

Eight years later, he still hates surprises anyway.

But eight years later, maybe he's also ready to admit that his sister might have had a point.

In his desire to see everything a certain way, he had completely ended up blind to the kind of person Minho really is – essentially leading him to the kind of surprise he'd taken to avoiding in the first place.

  
  
  
  


“Okay.”

Seungmin finds Minho on his day off exactly where he expects to find him – in his room, on his bed, doing absolutely nothing except stare at the ceiling while listening to music.

The lazy sight almost makes Seungmin rethink what he came to do, but his arrival actually surprises Minho, and for that alone, he stays.

“Okay—what?” Minho asks, sitting up and pausing his tunes.

Seungmin realises, as the blanket covering Minho earlier falls off his body, that he isn't wearing a shirt. He quickly looks away, but he's still able to note that Minho has absolutely no muscle definition anywhere on his torso – which he actually appreciates, because now he has something else to add to the ‘Minho Isn’t Perfect’ column.

“You asked me—the other night—what it is you do that pisses me off so much,” Seungmin clarifies. “I’m here to give you the answer.”

“What?” Minho laughs, and from the periphery of his Seungmin's vision, he notices movement. When he turns to Minho again, he finds that he's at least put on some ratty, old black shirt. “Okay—” Minho nods slowly, a curious glint in his eyes. “Tell me then.”

Seungmin stares; he’d sorted out everything that he wants to say to Minho, but now that they're facing each other, the words refuse to come easily.

“It’s because,” he finally begins, when Minho's gaze becomes a tad too scrutinizing. “You’re practically impossible to read as a person.” He pauses, half expecting Minho to make some kind of remark, but he only quirks an eyebrow, and Seungmin decides to carry on. “You like to hide what you really feel behind quips and jokes and it makes you really frustrating.”

At this, a chuckle escapes Minho, and Seungmin throws him a resentful glare; he's on a roll now, however, and he refuses to let Minhi get a word in before he's done.

“You act like you don't care about the people around you, so that's what I saw, and that's what I believed for a while. I found you awful because I really didn't think you gave a shit about anyone—although, I guess there's Jisung, maybe—”

“Stop being jealous of Jisung,” Minho attempts to interrupt in an amused (therefore extremely annoying) tone, and Seungmin mentally congratulates himself for being able to visibly ignore the quip and continue with his monologue.

“You appear as very opaque in front of people, hyung,” he sighs, “and I really hate that—and I hate even more that you clearly  _ love _ being this kind of person.” Seungmin lets out a huff of air once he's done, and then he gives Minho an even stare, and he waits for a response.

“Well,” is all Minho says after what feels like forever – but is probably not even a full minute in reality.

“Well?”

“Well—I’m not sure what you want me to say?” Minho blinks. “I’m actually trying my best not to laugh right now—”

“Why?” Seungmin snipes. “What’s so funny?”

Minho snorts. “Sorry, I—” And then he flashes a smile that's so bright and blinding and genuine in its fondness that Seungmin  _ physically _ feels his resolve start to crumble. “It's just that it's funny,” Minho tries again, “because most of those qualities are the same ones that I  _ like _ about  _ you.” _

Now it's Seungmin's turn to blink and gawk. “Excuse me?”

Finally, Minho allows the laughter he had been holding in escape. “What part was unclear, Seungminnie? I like you, because I get you. You're frustrating, and tiresome, and you act like you're almost allergic to affection sometimes, but—I get you. I get all of that, because in a lot of ways, we're similar in how we express ourselves, and that's why  _ you _ are very transparent to  _ me.” _

“I—what—” Seungmin is mentally panicking now, scrambling in his head for some kind of argument he could throw back at Minho, except he comes up with nothing. 

He remembers Jisung telling him how much Seungmin reminds him of Minho, and he decides that Jisung has just been bumped up to the top of  _ That  _ List, if only because he's such a pesky know-it-all.

“Hey,” Minho is standing right in front of Seungmin now, and Seungmin doesn't know when and how he got so close, but there he is – standing just a couple of inches away, and the proximity is causing Seungmin to metaphorically short circuit. “I’m going to do the same thing you did, now,” Minho says.

“What's that?”

Minho smiles, and then, just as Seungmin had done just a couple of nights ago, he takes Seungmin's face in his hands to pull him close, and then he kisses him.

Seungmin allows himself to lose control, and for once he thinks he doesn't actually hate the feeling.

  
  


+++

  
  


(Changbin is the first one to ask what they are.

“Why do we need labels?” Seungmin shoots right back, trying his best to seem unaffected.

“Because you're you,” Changbin points out with a snort. “You like things to be clear and orderly.”

“They're  _ boyfriends, _ ” Jisung interjects, because of course he's in the kitchen too when Changbin makes the stupid inquiry.

“Shut up,” Seungmin orders, exasperated but without real bite.

“That's right,” Minho agrees as he walks into the room that exact moment, picking up a piece of dinner roll and stuffing it into Jisung’s mouth without warning. “We don't need labels,” he announces clearly, and then, he whispers – supposedly just for Seungmin to hear, but the kitchen is small, and neither Changbin nor Jisung are deaf. “But whenever you decide you want a label, you're gonna have to come and tell me yourself.”

Minho leans away after that, a feline smile gracing his lips, and Seungmin can only sigh and quietly lament the fact that he now can't figure out which he wants to do more: punch out or kiss that annoying expression right off of Minho’s face.)

fin.

**Author's Note:**

> [ 4 ] Thank you for making all the way to the end. I hope you enjoyed the story!
> 
> [ 5 ] Feedback is very much appreciated, as usual. If not here, do feel free to reach me on [Twitter](http://twitter.com/hanmings) and/or [Curious Cat](http://curiouscat.me/yiminho) (:


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